Full automatic automotive transmission



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FULL AUTOMATIC AUTOMOTIVE TRANSMISSION Filed July 17, 1937 17 Sheets-Sheet 13 Z A 258 W m win i :gir /Z/ INVENTOR ATTORNEY June 16, 1942. D s. BENNETCH 2,286,193

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ATTORN EY June 16, 1942. Q s, BNNETCH 2,286,193

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ATTORNEY June ,16a 1942- D. s. BENNETCH 2,286,193

FULL AUTOMATIC AUTOMOTIVE TRANSMISSION Filed July 17, 1937 1'7 sheets-sheet 17 L ya ' l INVENTOR David '5 Benne'c/l.

ATTORNEY wh/M l Patented June 16,- 1942 UNITED STAT-ES Param?v OFFICE FULL AUTOMATIC AUTOMOTIVE TRANSMISSION David S. Bennetch, Sheridan, Pa.

Application July 17, 1937, serial No. 154,215 2`o claims. (ci. 19a-.01)

The invention relates to speed transmissions for automotive vehicles or the like and, more particularly, to a fully automatic control for gear shift type transmissions.

According to the invention, a transmission of the gear' shift type is `provided which is fully automatic in that, during normal forward operation of the vehicle, all of the gear shifting and clutch operation takes place without manipula-v tion of any controls whatsoever except vto operate the accelerator pedal in accordance with' the speed desired.

According to a preferred form of the invention, it is only necessary, before driving the vehicle, to set a knob according to the desired direction, forward or backward. After the knob is actuated for forward speed, all of the other events are entirely automatic, governed by conditions of -speed and torque, the operator merely pressing the foot accelerator to a position depending upon the speed at which he desires to drive the vehicle.

Special devices may be provided, according to the invention, to insure smoothness of operation. For example, clutch synchronizing devices may be supplied for insuring that the clutch elements have the same speed before permitting them to engage. Additional devicesmay be provided for changing, under certain special conditions, the speeds at which the gears shift. For this purpose, according to a preferred form of the invention, a shift delay mechanism may be provided, when quick acceleration is desired, for delaying the speed at which the gears-shift from y rst -to secon'd and from second to high until the car has reached a higher speed.

Further improvements may be provided in establishing a manual cut-out device by which the operator may, at any time, render the automatic control inoperative and cause the transmission to remain in whatever condition it hap-'- pened to be in when the cut-out device was operated. For example, if the automatic transmission has shiftedto second and the operator desires to maintain this condition for any special reason, it is only necessary to depress a special status quo button which may, if desired, serve also as a foot rest for the accelerator pedal.

The invention also consists in certain new and original features of construction and Vcombination of parts hereinater'set forth and claimed.

Although the novel features which are believed to be characteristic of this invention will be particularly pointed out in the claims appended hereto, the invention itself, as to its objects and i advantages, and the mannerin whichit may be carried out, may be better understood by referring `to the following description taken in connection with the accompanying drawings forming a part thereof, in which Fig. 1 is a vertical assembly view, partly diagrammatic, of part of an automobile showing 'the automatic transmission control applied thereto;

Fig.- 2 is a transverse section looking rearwardly taken on the line 2-2 of Fig. 1;

Fig. 3 is a longitudinal section through the gear box;

Fig. 4 is a top plan view of ing adjoining controls;V

Fig. 5 is a section Yon the line 5 5 of Fig. 1 illustrating the gear shift cylinder;

the gear box show- Fig. 6 is a side elevation of the control box` y looking from the left side of the car;

Fig. '7 is a longitudinal section taken through the shift delay valve;

Fig. s is a section on the line s a of Fig. 7; Fig. 9 is a vertical section taken through the end of the control box on the line 9--9 of Fig. 12;

Fig. 10 is a section on the line lll- I0 of Fig. 9;

Fig. 11 is a section on the line lI-ll of Fig. 12; Y i

Figs. 12, 13 and 14 are plan sections through the control box taken on the lines I2-l2, l3|3 and I4-|4, respectively, of Fig. 9;

Figs. 15, 16 and 17 are lsections through the control box taken on thelines' I 5-l5 I6-I6 and I1-I`I, respectively, of Fig. 12

Fig. 18 is a perspective of the governor lever; Figs. 19 and 20 are sections through the control box taken on the lines Ill-I9 and 20-20,

respectively, of Fig. 13;

Fig. 21 is a diagrammatic layout of the trans? mission showing the main valves and connecting pipe lines;

Figs. 22, 23 and 24 are perspectives of elements on transverse shaft D;

Figs. 25-30 are perspectives of details on Shaft C; f

Figs. 31 and 32 are an end view and perspective, respectively, of a further detail on shaft C;

Fig. 33 is a perspective of another element on shaft C;

Fig. 34 is an elevation of the core forming part of the shaft' B assembly;

Fig. 35 is an elevation of the same core shown in Fig. 34 taken 'on the opposite side;

r Figs. 36-40 are transverse sections of the core taken on the lines 36436, {iT-31, S13- 38, 35i-39 and dll-4U, respectively, of Fig. 34;

Fig. 41 yis a developed view of the core shown in Figs. 34-40; A Y

Fig. 42 is an elevation of the cylinder member vof shaft assembly B;

Fig. 43 is an elevation of this cylinder member taken from the opposite side;

Figs. i4-48 are transverse sections taken on the lines 44--44, L15-45, i6-46, 41-`-41, 48-58 of Fig. 42, certain of these sections being indicated also in Fig. 16.

Inthe following description and in the claims, various details will be identified by specific names for convenience, but they are intended to be as generic in their application as the'art will permit.

Like reference characters denote like parts in theseveral figures of the drawings.

In the drawings accompanying and .forming part of this specification, certain specific disclosure of the invention is made for purposes of explanation, but it will be understood that the details may be-modiiied in various respects with- .out departure from the broad aspect of the.in

vention.

General assembly Referring to the drawings and, more particuf larly, to-Figs. 1, 2, 6 and 21, the automatic trans- A mission is shown for purposes of the-invention applied to an automobile. However, it will be understood that the invention may be applied to any automotive vehicle,`inc1`uding trucks,`rail way. locomotives and boats.` The engine,l which may be of anywe1l known internal-combustion type, is denoted b y I; the conventional mechanical clutch by 2 and gear box by 3. .For automatically shifting the gears in the gear box 3' and operating` the clutch- 2, a special control mechanism, indicated'by`1, is providedgwhich mechanism may be conveniently mounted underneath the oor board I2 ofthe car in proximity `to lthe clutch and gear box. A vacuum clutch cylinder 5 may be mountedon the dashboard 8 for operating the clutch 2 and a vacuum gearv shift cylinder 6 maybe mounted alongside the.

gear box for shifting the gears. For driving a governor within the control box 1, a governor drive, including transfer gearsV 4, is taken oifat a point between the'clut'ch'gear' and gear box 3. The controls for operating the car comprise a manual control knob" Sprojecting from the `dashboard 8, an acceleratorpedal vII'I =and a status quo button II. For normal operation after the engine has started, it is only necessary topush in the control button 9 if it is desired to go forward, or to pull it'out ifit is desired to go back-A A pinned to a shaft IIIV journalled in the dash 8.

The arm I5 is'pinnedA to accelerator shaft I4 and a link I6 connects Varrn I5 with an arm I1 f mcJnted on shaft D of the control box 1. Shaft D also supports an arm I8 which is` connected by a link I9 to bell crank lever 20 freely journalled on shaft I4.' Link '2I connects lever 20 with the throttle (not shown) fof the carbureter. Clutching connectionsdescribed hereinafter) in the control box 1 areprovided for transferring mechanical connection" from the carbureter rod` 2I 24 being strong enough for this purpose.

vices within, the control box 1. Spring 300 acting between link 2I and a fixed point on the-car urges throttle lto idling position. Spring under the accelerator pedal I0 urges the pedal upwardly.

ft will be understood that for ordinaryoperation, the carbureter throttle -is controlled by the accelerator pedal in the ordinary manner, butduring certain periods in the gear shifting cycle,

'the control of the throttle is taken away from the -elements before permitting them to engage.

The status quo button II normally acts as foot rest for the accelerator pedal I0, the spring rIhe button II is connected'to a valve 25 (Fig. 21) for cutting off vacuum from the intake manifold 22 of the car.. Thus,'at any time, the operator may bear` down'hard on status quobutton II to hold all parts of the transmission in any position in which they happen to be at the instant. This will be more fully explained hereinafter.

' The control box 1 consists of a casing conveniently secured to the transmission in any desired way, said casing-journalling four main shaftasarm 21 mounted on clutch shaft B. The shaft, A

-it has connected thereto an arm 3| semblies identified as- A, B,'C and D. Shaft A is a governor shaft and is connected to spiral gears 4 driven from shaft 31 '(Figs. 2, 3` and 21), saidspiral gears being located between the clutch shaft. This shaft is operated by clutch vacuum cylinder 5 pivoted to arbracket on the dash 8.'

Piston rod 26 (Figs. 1 and 2) is connected with by means of which the clutchl 2 is mechanically engaged and disengaged, is indicated by 28 and connected by link 32 to arm 21, a pin and slot connection 33- being -provided between link 32 and arm 21. This insures operation ofshaft B before disengagement of clutch 2 for a purpose which will hereinafter appear.

Shaft C is called, for convenience, the gear.

the throttle from the accelerator pedalto thel governor and vice versa, as explained above.y

. g Gear boa: and controls Referring now more particularly to Figs. 1, 3, 4 and 5, the gear box 3 comprises a gear shift assembly of the conventional type to which automatic. gear shift mechanism has been applied. It will be understood that the gearbox may be of theI old fashioned type in which the gears acv tually shift, or of the more modern type where the gears remain in engagement, with suitable clutches being shifted inside to obtain the proper speed' ratio. 'Y In the Y specification and inthe claims, the expression gearpshiftor equivalent expressions are. intended 'to apply to either type of transmission, or transmissions made up of both types,as in the form shown in the drawings. Y y

The driveshaft -31 extends from the rear "clutch dement of clutch z and driven shaft `as to the accelerator pedal II), orto' governing de- 75 extends to the propeller shaft or rear end of the which is and a sliding dog having slidable synchromesh 5 engagement with either the high speed gear 61 or the second speed gear 68, as will be understood by those skilled 'in the art. It will be understood that, if desired, the sliding gear 39 may be replaced with a sliding dog similar to dog 40. 10

The sliding gear 39 and sliding dog 40 are controlled by suitable forks 4| and 42 secured to bars or rails 43, 44 having the usual detents 45 for holding the slidable elements in proper position. In place of the usual gear shift lever for l5 shifting the railsv43, 44 a special cam plate` 46 (Figs. 3 and 4) is provided.

Cam plate 46 has a pair of cam slots 49 and 50 in which ride followers 5| and 52 secured'to the rails 43, 44, respectively. It will thus be seen., 2o 9| this drum being shiftable axially by open that the slots 49 and 50 are so shaped that upon lateral movement of cam plate 46 the gears may be shifted from the high position indicated in Fig. 4 through second to low. The' shifting to reverse is not automatic, but is manual, as will 25 be described hereinafter.

Attention is called to offsets 53 provided in slot 50.Y These osets are for the purpose of providing increased resistance in the path of movement of follower 52 to prevent clashing of 30 the gears during shifting to second or high4 speeds. quire more vacuum to be built up in the gear shift cylinder 6, thus giving a slight delay just before the gears engage, and thus' providing op- 35 portunity for the gear synchronizing elements to operate. l

.For shifting the gears-to' reverse, it is necessary to operate hand knob 9. This knob is connectedby a flexible sleeve and wire 64 (Figs. 1'40 and 4) fastene'dito lever 65 mounted on atbracket and connected to rail 43. Thus, when the cam the length of cam slot 66, placing the transmis, 50'

sion manually in reverse.

For -operating the cam plate 46 automatically, a vertical shaft 54 (Figs. 2, 4 and 5) is provided. Shaft 54 has an arm 55 having pin and slot connection 56v with cam plate 46. The lower end of -55 shaft`54'i`s`jb1rnalled in abracket 51- (Fig. 2) andjcarries arm59 having a pin 60 working'in` a` slot 6| inarm 59 and in a slot 62 in bracket 51 (Fig.- 5). The pin 60 passes through the end of piston rod 63 of gear shift cylinder 6. Thus, 60

the` piston rod 63 is constrained-to move lin av straight line and operate cam plate 46. The piston rod 63 carries a pin 58 for engagement with link '35 extending to arm 34 on shaft C of the control box.

Governor shaft assembly A Referring noW to Figs. 12,13, 14, 17 and 18, the

governor is indicated, in general, by 10 and is 70 of the ordinary flyball type. It comprises balls 1| supported by links pivoted, respectively, to an axially xed collar 'I2 and -an axially slidable s1eeve`13. Spring 14 operates to keep sleeves These points of increased resistance reexerted by the ilyballs 1I. A collar 15 is jour- ;nalled on sleeve 13 connected to a governor lever Referring 'now to Fig. 18, governorlever 16 comprisesa forked portion 11 engaging studs on collar 15, a throttle arm 4'I8 and a synchronizing arm 19. Arm 19 has a slot 80 with a wide end and a narrow end.- The lever 16 is pivoted to the frame at 8|. Arm 18 has a link 82 extending to arm 83 on collar 228 on transfer shaft'D.

Slot. coacts with pin 84 on drum 85 lof shaft B (Fig. 17). Y

Clutch shaft B :Ihe clutch shaft B is operated by the clutch vacuum cylinder 5 and has-two Arotary positions corresponding to engagement and disengagement of the clutch 2. Referring principally to Figs. 12, 13 and 16, the clutch shaft comprises an axially fixed hub 89 and an axially slidable drum tion of the governor and by variation in oil pressure controlled by vacuum of intake manifold, as will be explained more fully hereinafter.

The hub 89 has a flange 90 (Figs. 1l and 16). The axially shiftable drum 9| comprises a valve l L, releasing devices 92 and 93 (Figs. 19 and 20).

for operating .up-shift valve T and down-shift valve S respectively, an oil cylinder 94 carrying a plug 95, featherkeyed to hub'i). The valve L (Fig. 2l) has grooves 9 6 and 91 registerable with ports communicating with pipes 98 and ||9.

The rotation of clutch shaft B operates kickolf valve H. Referring especially to Figs. 12, 17

and 21, the valve Hcontans -grooves |00 and I0| registering with atmosphere port ||5 and with ports communicating with pipe I I9 and with pipes |04 and |05. 'Valve H is pressed inwardly by spring |06 heldin position by a screw threaded plug. Valve H is pinned to `control block |01 (Fig. 33) which straddles shaft C. Control block |01 has a'catch |08 cooperating witha projection |09 on spring catch IIO, the latter being engaged by an arm ||4 on shaft B. The control block |01 carries a slidable plunger III, which 45 -in turn carries a Washer |I3 held in place by a pin passing through the plunger.

A spring H2 acts between the body of block- |01 and the washer I|3 tending to hold the plunger II I away from the body of the control block. The'catch |08 limits the outward movement of the plunger 'I I I. The plunger I is engageable with the arm II4. The operation of,valve H is also controlled Q by certain devices on shaft C and will be de-A scribed hereinafter.,r`

a notch |25 `into which the end of valve T drops',

when shaft B rotates in the direction ofthe arrow to the'proper position, provided, of course, stop |22 has moved. ,Valve Tis reset by rotation of shaft B in the opposite direction, causing valve T toride up cam surface |23; the torsion spring 12 and 13 apartagainst the centrifugal force 75 |26 permitting valve T to carry washer |24 with The clutch shaft 1.3 also operates up-shift valve xT (Figs. 19 and 21). Valve T contains grooves 

